in the year you were born

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Includes unlimited streaming of in the year you were born
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

about

recorded between january 16th and february 3rd at the lincoln county social club under the guidance of chris stringer and the distant wisdom of john dinsmore. there were a few additional days in march there but those don't really count...we just wanted to hang out some more and finish reading the books we had started and left on john's shelves.

as is true of any artistic undertaking, there are times when you ask yourself "what in the name of sweet jalnorr am i doing?" the answer is that it doesn't matter what you're doing, but that you're doing it. well, we did it, but not without a significant amount of assistance and support. to that end the young novelists would like to thank eileen, lara, and eva for their patience; the strumbellas, peter katz, shawn clarke & the green hearts, the fires of, the maladies of adam stokes, parks & rec, and myke mazzei for sharing the stage with us on occasion; preetam sengupta and the LAMA (letting artists make art) team for the kind words, the good vibes, and the hard work; amie therrien for performing the labours of hercules on a fortnightly basis; meghan gamble and theresa micallef for their unflappable awesomeness in the face of publicity; and, chris stringer for yelling at us.

music doesn't really matter much without an audience. thank you for listening.

please note that unauthorized reproduction of this work is highly encouraged. share all you want.

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about

the young novelistsToronto, Ontario

Exclaim! dubbed their first EP “unpretentious brilliance” and this six-piece folk-roots band has won critical acclaim ever
since. Stephen Fearing described them as having “tight arrangements, great dynamics, and good songs with beautiful three-part harmonies” and their live shows capture audiences with both barnstorming singalongs and heartbreaking folk ballads....more

trapped behind blue eyes without a word
the engine of your heart a broken bird
that drives your only hope off the rails
& breaks each small success, it never fails
don't spare details...full-blown the sails

[pre]
& take apart his eminence
the officers, the evidence
the ones who came to speak

[ch]
in your defense
in your defense

the lens refracts the light until it burns
your common cause was never taking turns
all praise a verb...you don't deserve

[pre]
when friends exchange with enemies
the ghosts inside your family
& hold you back to speak

[ch]
in your defense
in your defense...

[outro]

Track Name: standing still

STANDING STILL

verse: C Am x4 F Fm
pre-chorus: C G Am F
chorus: C Am

the day may come when i do not recall
the little push, the tumble or the fall
but twice i looked & twice i saw you
twice i looked & twice i saw you
twice i looked...& you looked too
& did you sing me note for note?
or see my heart was in my throat?

[pre]
oh i have never been the type
to take a chance, the moment ripe
i'm locked inside, i try to try
i had to watch you pass me by & i...

[ch]
i'm standing still...i'm standing still

when all we had was new we knew at last
we'll build upon the ruins of the past
& once i spoke & once you held me
once i spoke & once you held me
once i spoke...& then i knew
that words would always come between
what was said & what it means

[pre]
oh i could hardly stand the break
& watch you make the same mistake
you don't recall you made at all
i'll never let you see me fall cause i...

broken by her hand, cradled in your arms
sirens in your head – all five alarms
& the city is the perfect confidante
it gives you what you need, never what you want

[ch]
& the lie you're sold is the same as every one you told
& whatever it takes you need another break
or a chance to make the same mistake

your broken baggage now heavy in your chest
the feeling that you lost all you possessed
all of your demands made without a voice
the fire in your head never had a choice
& artificial sympathies
dividing all your friends & enemies

[ch]
& all you've been is a ghost in someone else's dream
& now that they're awak you only know the ache
& the need to make the same mistake

forgetting what you save, all your common grounds
a king is what you kept, wearing other crowns

caught in my head my one foolish friend
getting ahead by playing pretend
you left us for dead we were just at the end
of the verse of the song
when i come along...come along x3
& do everything wrong
you felt like you[tacit] belonged
like a harmony sung

[chorus]
break these ties as restless as
two young lies between us
it takes all kinds
we know what it takes

[solo over verse]
you're [tacit]here in my mind
so easy to find
i just look down or behind to make sure
to make sure to make sure you're not scared
oh i know you so well don't say that i don't
& i put you through hell as you already know
oh i meant well, but i guess that don't
make it easy to bear

the rose is the lion of blooms
these singers will fill up a room
but every note they throw your way is false
you change how a room takes a sound
& measure a man by the pound
& the weight of his mistakes can give you pause

[ch]
don't you see that you're on your own? x2
you've never been so alone
don't you see that you're on your own

the night has the stars in its eyes
cause the depth of the dark terrifies
but the strange is commonplace when you bring it home
they will prove what can never have proof
they will scare you by telling the truth
but the truth is all that you have when you're alone

[ch]

G Em...
[bridge]

[ch] x2

Track Name: the way it was

THE WAY IT WAS

verse: A [riff] A A F#m E
chorus: D D D E A A A E D D D E A A E E

everyone here is a candidate
to break the record or set the record straight
you'll come out the other side in a couple years
& wash your hands of all of this with all your tears
oh don't you leave me, don't you believe me?
& don't you wanna come down & grieve me?
i'm doing damage in all my anguish
you're saying sorry in every language, yeah

[ch]
tell me nothing's changed; it never does
everything remains the way it was...the way it was

now everyone wants to be popular
so she copies you & you copy her
& no one's going anywhere
with the hint of disaster in the air
oh don't you know it, don't you show it
don't back down & don't you blow it
i'm on my knees in a farmer's field
only a momma's boy would ever yield

[ch]

well everyone's got a different take
there's the truth you know & the truth you make
& every word down from the rumour mill
is a stab in the back or a look that kills
& somehow...you weather the shake up
'til i say...i think we should break up

[ch]
don't you wish it was the way it was
you can't go back because
the way it was is the way it was

have a little faith in what you make
stop keeping track of your mistakes
oh you wrote a ghost there in the words
about another pain that you endured
& if you're lonely now well still you're young
getting older with every song you've sung
'til your voice is broke & your heart is played
well a star is born but a man is made

[chorus]
the heart string is breaking like you rehearsed
centuries in the making, for what it's worth

you're trapped in the amber of your flaws
& you soldier on where others pause
accused until you can't succeed
well you cut yourself 'til you can't bleed
& the strings will play to name your fear
if only you could disappear

[ch]
alarms sing the break-in & the fifth becomes the first
centuries in the making, for what it's worth

[br]
every lonely one you take them on
& nothing's easy for you don't belong...
you don't belong

(instr. verse)
have a little faith in what you make
stop keeping track of your mistakes
cause your voice is broke & your heart is played
well a star is born but a man is made

[1st chorus]

Track Name: long long long

LONG LONG LONG

verse: D# D# Cm G#
chorus: D# (D# Bb) G# (G# Bb)

only the constant survive
not the weak with their lies
letting the ocean tides
yet they never decide
the permanent storm / has human form
exacting a terrible price
come on open your eyes / once they were closed...

[chorus]
long long long

never convinced / someone has since
told you the evidence
all you need is an inch
next to the end / trying to mend
suffering discipline
until nobody wins / really it's been...

[chorus]
[solo over verse]

violent lives / if we survive
vacate the constant past
each one will last...